Letters to the editor: Hypocrisy over Russia, Cuba?

Published: March 31, 2014

Hypocrisy?

Of late, the U.S. administration and most of the world have been indignant over Russia’s annexation of the Crimea. What most of the brouhaha seems to miss is the fact that a vast majority (90-plus percent of the Crimean people voted in an apparently open, fair and non-rigged election that they wanted to remain part of Russia. Along with that, the Russian Navy has based its Black Sea fleet in the Crimea for centuries.

Meanwhile, back home, not far from Florida, less distance than Moscow is from the Crimea, America continues to cling steadfastly to its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Somehow I feel that, whatever the Cuban people may feel about Castro and company, they would probably like to have the territory of Guantanamo back as part of their country. Yet any give-back of Guantanamo is not open for discussion. It’s not even on the table or anywhere near the table.

Am I alone in feeling that there is a bit of hypocrisy going on here?

Robert Beatty

Tampa

Not an endangered species

Regarding “Where is protection for Hillsborough’s trees?” (Letter of the Day, March 21): Oak tree lovers, do you have a zillion oak trees on your street or in your back yard like so many of us do? They aren’t exactly on the endangered species list. They cause a myriad of problems, including damaged roofs, blocked gutters (water damage), damage to lawns, flowers and plants, and involve a ton of work in removing and disposing of the fallen leaves. Their acidic overload is further detrimental.

Ask allergy sufferers how they like these trees. Most oaks aren’t even a bit attractive. There are a lot more species that could help the environment a lot more with their absorption of CO2 than these guys. Save the oaks? Come and get a few. Oh — you probably have an ally in car wash businesses; they have an appreciable surge in business with pollen season.

Donna Ward

Sun City Center

Too much for system

Honestly, I am a bit puzzled by Joe Henderson’s recent column as to why he places the blame for the death of the 7-year-old special-needs child more than two years ago on the school.

This child, and others in her situation, should be home-schooled or provided a separate health care worker to attend to her specific needs. The “special-needs” teachers are trained to deal with children with disabilities in a classroom setting to see to their educational needs.

To literally dump a special-needs child on a school system and require it to provide the required health-care needs is asking too much of a system that tries to accommodate many with varying physical and diminished-learning capabilities.

Educational facilities, by definition, should treat the mind and not be required to look to the individual’s disability needs. Special-needs teachers do provide for the comfort of a disabled child to facilitate a learning atmosphere, but the primary purpose is still to educate the child.

Roger H. Oddson

Sun City Center

Nullifying votes

Federal Judge Bernard Friedman decided all by himself that gay rights trumped constitutional rights when he overturned a constitutional amendment that 60 percent of the voters from the great state of Michigan approved in 2004 declaring that marriage was between a man and a woman. Apparently, voters’ choices, in this case, regarding ballot issues are meaningless and have no merit, being left in the hands of a non-elected judge, while lending credence to why some people believe that their vote doesn’t count.

Jerry Wright

Avon Park

Where is GOP’s integrity?

Rick Scott’s new ad contains untruths about his probable opponent. I’m not surprised. Over the past 14 years, the Republicans have resorted to lying and trickery to obtain what they want. Why change something that works? Remember “weapons of mass destruction”? They got a war. Remember “Swiftboat”? They retained the White House. Without any indication that voter fraud exists, they tried to scrub the rolls of mostly Democratic voters.

When are the voters going to wake up the tricks and lies? “Republican” is merely a label covering an organization that has been taken over by people who don’t have any honest solutions to our problems and must resort to dishonesty to win elections. That is not the party of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. I’m asking for integrity.

Fern Williams

Zephyrhills

Under the bus

Regarding “An equal opportunity to go to college” (Our Views, March 22): Why? Other than the insightful observation that illegals pay sales and gasoline taxes, the Tribune wraps its support for in-state tuition rates for illegals in a blanket of “compassion.”

After all, the illegals did not ask their parents to break U.S. law, they have succeeded in their K-12 education and they now “deserve” to continue to have their education subsidized even further by Florida taxpayers through their college careers?

To not do so is seen as “punishment” by the Tribune.

While the Tribune, state House Speaker Will Weatherford and state Sen. Jack Latvala are playing it safe by being politically correct, they are also throwing some (as yet unnamed) Florida students under the educational bus.